Green Roof: From Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the modern-day systems

Green roofs and roof gardens date back to thousands of years. But despite the recorded existence of roof gardens, such as one of the seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, perhaps the first example of draping our buildings in flora to make them more ...

Green roof – a potential new habitat for plants and animals in urban areas

In the summer of 2015, biodiversity was evaluated on sedum roofs in the Netherlands. In the process, the following species were observed: 3 types of diurnal butterflies, 29 types of nocturnal butterflies (moths), at least 4 types of wild bees, at least 7 types of hoverflies, 4 ...

EPD – transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact of a green roof*

Great, we have it – the first in the green roof industry – for the whole Urbanscape Extensive Green Roof system. But what does it actually mean; and what are the benefits of having it? Read our blog and find out… What is an EPD – Environmental Product Declaration? In life-cycle ...

Managing Landscaping – the Californian way

In California, the largest part of all urban water usage goes to landscaping. There, water consumption for outdoor applications can reach as much as 60% of total urban consumption (according to AWWA Research Foundation). Many ongoing initiatives for California's urban landscape ...

Do you really know all the benefits of green roofs?

Green roofs have recently gained great attention of urban planners and architects - mainly because of numerous social, economic and design-based benefits they bring to public, private, economic and social sectors, and even more important, to local and global environments. You've ...

Is landscaping in arid areas possible – and successful?

The landscaping industry has been constantly evolving during recent years and is expected to continue to see good growth in the coming years. Wondering why? The answer is simple – because people are becoming more particular about maintaining their yards and environments, both ...

Why does urban green infrastructure matter?

Let's take a closer look at Europe1 (with similar trends worldwide): 75% of Europeans – and well more in the future – live in or around cities. City dwellers are exposed to pollutant levels exceeding EU air quality standards, in particular particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3), ...

How Green Roofs contribute to final Green Building Ratings

The green construction industry is moving fast, together with a growing trend for Green Building Rating Tools. There are many different Green building assessment initiatives, with the two most popular - LEED and BREEAM - outlined below.

Utilizing roofs: Photovoltaics on green roofs

Roofs can be seen in so many more ways than just the top of a building – as a complex structure accommodating a roof with solar panels, wind turbines and other equipment, as well as a green roof, which has many ecological benefits and can in some cases even be seen as a leisure ...

Do green roofs need to be maintained and irrigated for maximum performance?

Designers, investors, project owners and other stakeholders often have questions about the maintenance of green roofs. It’s important to be realistic, and to take into account all of the many aspects of this question. Let’s start with the most important one: what does the owner ...